106 - Application of the Principles of Musical Proportion, [Sept 1, 
T knew of, prior to the recent publication 
by Mr.Qdell!, that seem to have had any 
idea of the venuine principles of musical 
proportion, as applicable to the rhythmus 
of spoken language, are Mr. Steele in his 
Prosodia, and my enlightened friend and 
correspondent, Mr. Richard Roe 1m his 
Elements of English Metre: the latter of 
whom I hope will yet be prevailed upon 
to obhie the world with an improved ang 
more ainple development of his system. 
But neither of these, as far as I can re- 
member, had any idea of applying their 
principles for the remedy of impediments 
of speech, and, indeed, as neither of 
them seem to have had any conception 
of the physiological facts and principles 
eut of which the laws of musical propor- 
tron have, perhaps, arisen, (and with the 
necessities of which those laws must, 
in their application, so exactly coincide, 
if they are to produce any operation in 
cases of serious impediment,) if they had 
conceived any such idea, it must of ne- - 
cessity, have been exceedingly dim andim- 
perfect. But I repeat it: whatever cone 
tempt I might have felt for the indivi- 
dual who could condescend to the disin- 
genuousness of such a passage, as well 
as to the multiplied plagiaries with which 
the book abounds, if Mr. S. had really — 
so illustrated what he has made free with 
that his publication had been likely to 
be assistant m the prevention or the re- 
moval of impediments, I should readily 
have pardoned the action, thongh I des- 
pised the actor; and have exulted in the 
prospect that my principles, however sur- 
reptitiously purloined, were in the way 
of obtaining a wider diffusion among man- 
Kind than E have leisure or opportunity 
to give them. So far, indeed, did the 
tendency to this sort of feeling operate 
wpon ine, that the report of the plagiary 
was reiterated from several quarters, be- 
fore [had even the curiosity to enquire 
ito the extent to which it had been 
carried; nor did I, at last, give myself the 
tronble of perusing the work, till the in- 
telligence that an erroneous and mischiev- 
éus application was made of my stolen 
goods, roused me to a sense of the daty 
E owed to society, and cajled upon me 
to examine whether what began to be 
talked of as a transcript of imy system, 
was, in reality, such as ouvht to be laid, 
by popular rumour, at my door. I have 
examined accordingly; and that I may 
keep myself as much aloof as_ possible 
from the uncandid meauness of Mr. S. 
F will do him the justice to admit, that 
there are parts in his compilation that 
are well arranged, tolerably digested, and 
intelhigibly explained. But to no part 
of this praise can [ admit that his system 
of rhythmus and musical proportions, (if 
proportions they can be called), or his’ 
practical applications of what he has pur- 
loined to the treatment of impediments, 
are in any degree entitled. . Ar least, E 
must be permitted to declare, that his 
mode of practical application is not my 
mode; and that if, by such an admea-- 
sureinent of speech ag he dictates, he can 
cure even the solitary disease of stam- 
mering (for this is the only species of im-- 
pediment which he seems to regard as 
capable of any remedy) I give him joy of 
the discovery; for my own part, if 1 come 
prehend at all his system of admeasure- 
ment and notation, [ should sooner have 
suspected it of having been invented for 
the purpose of teaching the -fluent to 
stammer, than of enabling the stammerer 
to be fuentand emphatic. I say nothing 
at present of the gross, but popular error, — 
of measuring the cadences from light to 
heavy, 
Resound J} ye woods | resound | mymourn | < 
ful lay | 
instead of from heavy to light : 
Re|sound ye | woods re-lsound my | mourne © 
ful | lay ° 
a principle, which, if admitted, would 
throw our rhythmus into all the confu- 
sion it has been taxed with; and justify 
the else most untenable hypothesis of 
our mere finger-counting Critics, that — 
there is no such thing as admeasurable 
quantity in the prosody of the English 
language. Neither shall I pause for any 
considerable time, at present, upon the 
strange assertion, that it isa mere mat- 
ter of election, on the part of the hearer 
whether the measure shall be considered 
as proceeding from light to heavy (or as 
Mr. 8., by another misnomer, which be- | 
trays his imperfect acquaintance with the 
subject, denominates the metrometic 
qualities, weak and sfrong) or from heavy 
to light; only, I shall just observe, that 
this is so far from a mere fanciful election 
of theear, that it is a matter of practical 
election on the part of the reader or re- 
citer ; that the superior effect produced by 
the latrer mode ofadmeasurement, is one of 
the most positive discriminations of a 
good style of utterance ; that as far as 
relates to the effect upon the hearer, it - 
were better that the speaker had no idea 
of systematic admeasurement whatever, 
than that his imagination should be im- 
pressed with the opposite mode; and 
| ; finally, ° 
